Trick or Treat or Trick

I spent weeks sewing up costumes for the boys. The Bear had a spot on Woody costume, babe's Rex costume was also quite adorable. Cubs topped them all with a tech-savvy rendition of Buzz Lightyear. Two days before halloween, the Bear decided that Woody would not do. He cried, he sniffed, he whined. I made him try on the costume to make sure the fit was right. When I slipped the cowhide vest over his shoulders, he stroked the fur and said quite happily, "OH, Mom. You guessed my secret wish to be Bongo from One hunner and One Dalma-tations."

Sigh.

What else could I do? Bongo from One hunner and One Dalma-tations? It was just too cute to ignore. So I worked day and night, whipping up a new Pongo costume from cow print fabric. He loved it and went around talking about "Bongo" with a twinkle in his eyes.

Halloween morning I was putting the finishing touches on babe's costumes when Cubs choked on a pre-trick or treat lollipop and hurled all over the baby's freshly sewn Rex outfit.

Ugh.

No way was I going to sew something new. Sorry, baby. My mom saved the day with a quick Target run. One monster outfit later, I assured baby's older brothers that he was in fact "The Backson" from the new Winnie-the-Pooh movie. They were satisfied. Baby looked delicious. Problem solved.

Cubs slipped into his Buzz Lightyear costume and glowed with pride. Each time he would press the button on his sleeve, prompting his wings to pop out from their jet pack and light up, Cubs' face would light up too. He would check one side and then the other, looking over his shoulders with a cheeky smile and a smug look. He was down right vain about the whole thing. He loved it. And all the laughter and smiles we received from him last night made every moment of sewing worth it.

We headed out to my grandmother's house for some trick or treating in her neighborhood. This band of houses has the distinction of being one of the few communities left in Miami that actually stay at home, eager to welcome dozens of kids with candy, spooks and laughter. My mom, aunt and uncle were the first generation to make the rounds. My sister and I followed. Now, my little boys get to share in the halloween fun of this old school neighborhood.

I must share, however, that my older boys behaved like a pair of seasoned con artists last night. All the adults gathered on the sidewalk were cracking up as we watched these two tiny little boys march up the sidewalk and bang on doors. I had to keep reminding them not to shout "Open your door!!!" but rather "Trick or Treat!" Once the door opened, people usually shifted their candy bowl to one side and went down on one knee to get a closer looks at my pint sized cuties. It helped that the moment the door opened, the Bear would attack at full volume...

"Hi, I'm Bongo! And this is my friend Buzz Lightyear. Do you like coatis? How about sifaka lemurs or maybe a blue tongued skink or a three toed sloth? How about an oxpecker? An oxpecker is a symbiotic animal. Hey!! What about an okapi? Or maybe you like an anteater? They eat ants with their long long tongues. Look at my tongue...its long too..."

You get the picture. The Bear had their complete and total attention as he launched into his long speeches about animals, halloween, whatever dog was nearby, anything. These homeowners were enchanted.

Entranced.

Distracted.

Definitely not paying attention....

to the silent brother. The one in the Buzz Lightyear get up.

As his big brother chatted away to the homeowners left, Buzz would sweep in on the right side and started manhandling the candy. Yup, he would help himself to at least four or five handfuls of candy while his brother chatted away.

The kicker is that once the homeowner straightened up, they'd look down and see poor little Buzz standing all alone and give him an extra piece of candy.

Cubs' bag broke after just a few houses and after we exchanged for different bags, his was so full I had to pour some of his candy into the Bear's bag.

Thirty minutes into the excursion, the Bear started letting us know he'd had enough.

"My weg hurts."

"Oh Mom, I am so sleepy! (yawn)"

"Uh-oh, its getting dark."

and then flat out...

"Let's just go back to Abi's house now, ok Mom?"

At one point someone asked, "Sweetheart, are you ready to go home now?" The Bear sniffed and said, "Yeah" with a sweet little sigh.

"I'm NOT!!!" piped up Cubs, throwing his two cents before continuing down the street with a skip in his step.

This kid could have walked all night.

Halloween is a holiday he can get on board with. Costumes and candy? Sign him up! He loved it!